Cauliflower “Risotto” (Grain-Free AND Dairy-Free)

Recently, I stumbled across the idea of Cauliflower “Rice” on a Paleo / Primal Diet blog. Smitten by this idea for incorporating even more veggies into my dinner (and sneaking cauliflower in on my husband, hehe), I went with it. My first attempt was this Cauliflower “Risotto,” which amazingly turned out awesome right out of the shoot!

I have since made it a few times with the nod of approval from my usually cauliflower-hating husband. I have also made some basic cauliflower “rice” to serve as the base under stir-fries. It has worked out well, but my husband agreed that the risotto is just better.

Another Bonus: Surprisingly, a large head of cauliflower only makes about 3 to 4 healthy servings. When grated, the cauliflower seemed much less overwhelming than eating large florets.

I like to use just a bit of nutritional yeast, but keep the amounts moderate so that it enhances the meal without creating an overpowering fake cheesy taste. Nutritional yeast can easily be found online and in the bulk bins of some natural food stores. Make sure it is specifically called “nutritional yeast;” brewer’s (which the grocery attendants will try to hand to you) is not the same thing. If you don’t have any on hand, try this recipe without it, I am sure it will still be quite yummy!

3 Tablespoons Pine Nuts (about 1 ounce)

1-1/2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

½ Teaspoon Salt, or to taste

1-1/2 to 2 Tablespoons Grapeseed, Olive, or Coconut Oil

½ Cup Minced or Diced Onion

3 Cups Grated Cauliflower (about ½ medium to large head – if you have a food processor, you are golden; I grated by hand)

Combine the nuts, nutritional yeast, and salt in your spice grinder, and give it a few pulses. The nuts should grind up, and begin to clump. It is best if it stays a bit powdery and doesn’t turn into a paste, but if it does, no loss. Set aside while you cook the cauliflower.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the grated cauliflower and continue to sauté / stir-fry for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and suate for 1 minute more. Add the broth, reduce the heat to medium-low, stir, cover and allow it to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. This cooks it to the perfect “al dente” consistency for us, but feel free to cook it to your desired tenderness.

Remove the lid, turn off the heat, and stir in the reserved nut mixture. It may clump a bit, but continuing to stir it in the hot pan will help it to distribute and become creamy. Stir in the basil and fresh ground pepper to taste, if using. Serve.

Yields about 2 side servings

No Onion? I ran out of onion the second time I made this dish, so I skipped the onion sauté, but added ¼ teaspoon of onion powder to the nut mixture. The fresh onion was better, but this was still tasty in a pinch!

To Serve: This versatile dish can be served with a salad or steamed veggies (broccoli or asparagus would be nice) to keep it light and vegetarian. For an omnivorous meal, we found it went quite well with baked chicken, and also made a quick lunch with leftover chopped chicken added.

Lower Fat Option: I haven’t tried this as of yet, but I think this would work with just 2 teaspoons of oil if you were trying to go lower in fat. I would just sauté the onions in the oil, add the cauliflower and sauté for just 1 minute, and then add the broth and cover. Cook until it reaches your desired tenderness. You may need to use a touch more broth. Don’t skip the pine nuts though; they add richness and nutrition!

This looks absolutely delicious and I’m sure it could easily be adapted to be ACD-friendly! I love that you heated it up. I’ve made cauliflower “rice” salad (raw) before, and it was good, but I bet I’d LOVE this!

Nice! I love cauli. I mean I eat about 1/3rd of a head per day. Yes, nuts I know but I love it. I steam it, raw it, sprinkle it with nooch, I just dont get sick of it. That, brock, and brussles. I love your recipe and can always modify, thanks for sharing. Hope Tahoe and life is settling in and going great for you!!!!!!!!

This is truly why I started Slightly Indulgent Mondays – I love seeing the creativity that comes when people think about fabulous food made healthier. Thanks so much for linking this. My husband will love it – it’s getting bookmarked.

I think your lower fat option would work too. My take on it, though, is that 2 tablespoons of fat isn’t a lot when you’re making an entire dish. Especially when you’re using such healthy fats.

Okay, so this risotto looks very delicious. I have a funny story about risotto….

I was at a restaurant and decided to order the risotto and the server brought me this processed, fried cheese! Then I got to thinking maybe I was all wrong about what risotto really is…..then someone mentioned that perhaps I am mixing up ricotta and risotto. Anyway, I’ve established that the restaurant I ordered it at doesn’t know what risotto is!

that happened to me once as well, I tried to eat it but it was just fried parmesan and way too salty. Sent it back and asked for a RICE risotto…..um duh! But apparently at some italian restaurants thats the basic risotto recipe….but certainly not the majority!!

Hi there, thanks for the recipe-making it now in my slow cooker! Planning on adding frozen peas along with the basil at the end. Have made mashed “potatoes” before and though good, prefer the baked version with sour cream. This risotto looks like it will be heavenly.

I took this a step further to get the creamy consistency I was looking for.
I sauteed onion, garlic, celery and grated carrot and added lots of curry. when the curry had cooked a bit, I added lite coconut milk and combined it with the dish in the slow cooker. It turned out fabulous garnished with cilantro. The peas and basil stirred into the hot dish was great-thanks again.

This was fabulous!! I added green peas, lemon zest, extra veggie broth and a touch of cornstarch to make it nice and creamy. Oh and I used lightly toasted walnuts instead of the pine nuts. Yum and yum! Thanks 🙂

This looks like a great idea for increasing the “cruciferous” (cabbage-family) vegetables in your diet. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with eating rice. The populations that have based their diets heavily on rice have traditionally been slim and remarkably free of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

Hi! Boy I was so hankering for risotto and yet I am trying to do the primal diet without grains. I saw a few different “riced” cauliflower recipes made into risotto, but this one got me with the nutritional yeast addition. Since pine nuts are so expensive, I subbed slivered almonds. Also I sauteed up some mushrooms and added them in for more texture and flavor. At the end, I did cheat and throw in a little parmesan. But my final kicker is I take snap peas and slice them very thin vertically and then toss them in truffle oil and throw those on top. Awesome. I even brought it into the fine dining restaurant I work at and everyone was impressed! Thanks for the recipe. oh and a little pink himalayian salt!

Thank you for the recipe, it was lovely! I used a bit more bullion (without any additional water) and it gave it a really rich flavor. I also added some lemon, grated lemon rind, 1/2 c. peas and 1/2 c. edamame and ate it for several lunches throughout the week. It was wonderful and filling. I still have basil left over from last week, so I’ll be making this again for next week too!